I know it doesn’t help to stay up later, but I’m doing it anyway. I’ve promised myself I will go after I finish this post.  We’ll see how that turns out.

Interestingly, earlier today-when I was procrastinating on getting started writing web copy for a giveaway event I’m participating in, I found an article in one of those little plug-ins that I have on one of my igoogle pages.

It’s titled The Panacea for Putting Things Off. Some good thoughts, although some of the paragraphs only got skimmed since I had decided to read the whole thing later. Yeah, procrastination is pretty ingrained in me.

I hope you like it whenever you get a chance to read it.

Deborah

http://thinksimplenow.com/productivity/the-panacea-for-putting-things-off/

Deborah

Forbes.com First-Ever iConference: All-Weather Portfolio Strategies
NOW ON-DEMAND!

Dear Deborah Lee:

Were you unable to attend the Forbes.com Investor iConference: All-Weather Portfolio Strategies on May 22nd?

If you missed it, we have good news for you.  The entire event has been archived and is now accessible on-demand!  This event is FREE to attend. Just click here to log-in.

During this on-demand period, you can:

• Listen to all six conference sessions and archived Q&A’s, including the keynote discussion between Steve Forbes and Robert Kiyosaki.
• Obtain the same valuable investment reports and information that were available during the live event at our exhibitor booths and resource center.
• Get more than 30 specific stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations from Forbes Gurus.  
• You can even chat online with some of our exhibitors - booths are still being manned!

Here is what those who have already attended are saying about this Forbes.com iConference:

“The Forbes online iConference was better than some of the live in-person conferences I’ve attended in the past. I’d recommend this forum of learning and sharing to any investor. Great content, credible speakers and fabulous format! Thank you!!”
-B. Burke, Hillsboro, Oregon

“Forbes iConference… outstanding, delightful, and informative…. I never thought I would be attending an investors’ conference from Alaska with Steve Forbes, Robert Kiyosaki, and Jim Lowell, but I did!! Right in my own home. When is the next one???”
-J. Bauer, Soldotna, Alaska

“Much more civilized discourse than cable tv screamers.”
-D. Ahr, Frederick, Maryland

“I was impressed with the All-Weather Portfolio Strategies iConference and virtual event. The opportunity to watch Steve Forbes and listen to his opinions, predictions and advice about investing in uncertain times and in general was valuable.”
-S. Fuhr, Trevose, Pennsylvania

Click here to log-in now - it’s FREE!.

Sincerely,

Tina Russo
Editorial Director
Forbes Newsletter Group

This is specifically about stock investments. Even if you are not interested in taking action in that area right now, it may be benificial to get an overview for the future. Remember the Cashflow Quadrant? The rich put their energy into businesses and investments.

Information and a link for the event is below. (Be forewarned that there may be a product presentation involved, but usually there’s more content than sales in these types of things.)

Deborah

________________________________________________

Forbes.com iConference: All-Weather Portfolio Strategies 

www.forbes.com/iconference

On May 22, 2008 Forbes.com will hold its first-ever virtual investor conference that is designed to help investors navigate the current turbulent market environment.

Prospering during times of uncertainty takes more than just patience and investor fortitude, it requires smart, actionable investment advice. This day-long online event will feature Steve Forbes and an all star panel of investment advisors and experts. The event is free to all investors and is accessible via any Web-connected computer.

Topics to be Covered:
•   Politics, the Economy and Markets (Steve Forbes presentation)
•   Small-Cap Growth Stocks: Finding Tomorrow’s Ten-Baggers
•   Nanotech, Solar, Cleantech and Nuclear: Profit-Makers or Pretenders?
•   Value Investing - Identifying Buffett-Style Stocks
•   Gold & Energy Stocks: Investing for $1,500 Gold, $150 Crude
•   Options Trading for Protection and Profit 
•   Foreign Exchange: FX Options Trading Techniques
•   Are Tech Stocks the New Value Plays?
•   Global Investing - Invest Abroad or Perish!
•   401K and Retirement Planning - What are the Best Funds for Your Core?
•   Real Estate - Post Bubble Bargain Hunting

Confirmed Speakers
Steve Forbes - Forbes Chairman and Editor-in-Chief
Robert T. Kiyosaki - CEO and author, Rich Dad/Poor Dad 
Josh Wolfe - Managing Partner Lux Capital and editor, Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report
James Lowell - Editor, Forbes ETF Advisor, Fidelity Investor
James Oberweis - President, Oberweis Securities Funds, editor, The Oberweis Report
Richard Lehmann - Editor, Forbes/Lehmann Income Securities Investor, President, Income Securities Advisor, Forbes Magazine fixed income columnist
Curtis Hesler - editor, Professional Timing Service
Peter Slatin - editor, The Slatin Real Estate Report  
Dr. Vahan Janjigian,CFA - editor, Forbes Special Situation Survey and Forbes Growth Investor
Jimmy Young - FX Trading Instructor, Optionetics
John Christy III, CFA - editor, Forbes International Investment Report  

  Why Attend?
•   Get investment strategies from leading financial experts
•   Live Q&A sessions following each presentation
•   More than a dozen exhibitor booths where you can interact with gurus
•   Download free Special Reports and White Papers in our Resource Center
   Networking through chat, email, and virtual business cards
•   100% online, easily accessible from any Web browser
•   Prizes and Giveaways to be announced throughout the event, including: 
   • $500 Apple Store Gift Card 
   • Evening Cruise for two around Manhattan on Forbes Highlander Yacht 
   • One-year of Commission-Free trading via from ChoiceTrade account
   • Additional prizes to be announced throughout the event 
   • FREE to attend!   

It’s basically saying that “I can’t do it all, so I have to choose.” Some things get dropped and some get put on hold allowing you to put focus and energy to get priority projects taken care of.  It’s all done very intentionally. 

For creative types like me who are overflowing with ideas and the mounds unfinished projects that follow– it is a refreshing thought.  

One of the hardest things –nix that–THE hardest thing for me in building a home business is finding focus due to information and idea overload. (A close second would be time management).  I put a lot of needless pressure on myself and I start feeling stressed when projects get neglected. It’s really senseless to try to keep up since I’m always getting new ideas.

Mike Filsaime talked about this some in the 7 Figure Code.  He said that multitasking is going to take you longer.  If a project normally takes 30 days, then in 30 days you will have money coming in if you focus on just that one project. If you juggle 3,4,or more then it will take months then it will take months before you see any return.

It sounds like sage advice and I’m doing my best to follow it.  

Deborah  
 

I spent a lot of money early on buying products that seemed interesting, but were either not what they promised or not what I really wanted to do. I wish I had some of that money back now that I know that I want to do Internet marketing.

Having made those kinds of mistakes in the past has made me more cautious about who I choose to learn from. No matter what we do, we need to learn the ropes from someone whose been there. We can do everything from scratch, but it is a much rockier road.

I’ve been piecing together information for a couple of years and I have a lot of knowledge about Internet marketing. What I don’t have is a good system and a way to wade through all of the info in my head. All of the successful people will advise you to get a mentor and I’ve been searching for the right person.

A few weeks ago I got an email from a friend telling me about a free webinar on creating your own info product business. I watched it and it looked promising. They said they were the “couple next door” and not gurus. That was nice to hear.

I didn’t jump right in, I decided to analyze things. I watched the webinar and analyzed their whole sales letter. With this couple, I had an advantage. We know some of the same people, so I got a personal recommendation. 

Another thing I did was use a chapter from Tracy Repchuk’s 31 Days to Millionaire Marketing Miracles to evaluate a mentor. One of the things she said was to look at the testimonials. The gurus are always cross promoting each other. What you want to look for in a mentor is someone who has testimonials from everyday people. These people have gained success from studying with the mentor, not just because of connections or past knowledge.

I did finally buy it and it is different from most everything I’ve used. It’s an 8 week course in developing your own info product and building a business around a niche. One of the biggest selling points to me was that it focused on real niche topics, not just internet marketing.

I’m working on the first week and it’s a doozy. It’s about evaluating yourself and finding the niche topics that fit you. Then it goes step by step showing how to do the market research. I have struggled to find something that would give me info on how to research a product.  There’s not a lot of preliminary prep stuff out there. Most of it is jump first, learn to swim later (or never).

What I like about what this couple is doing is that the information is given in different forms - print, video, and audio.  They are also sending assignments out weekly and there’s no telephone call! I hate those calls where you sit listening for and hour and a half and get a 5 minute Q&A because they went over. There are calls just for Q&A, but the course is pre-recorded. 

Even though I’ve got a lot of technical knowledge, I’ve noticed that they leave no stone unturned in the tutorial department. There are so many links explaining how to do things. There was even a video on how to download audio and PDF files from the Internet. It’s very user friendly.

So far it has been a great fit for me. I’ve actually taken all of the ideas that were floating in my head - at least the internet business ones - and put them down on paper. It was a great accomplishment for me.

It’s an 8 week course and if all goes according to plan I will have a product and a launch at the end of it all. I’ve banned myself from reading or responding to anything else so that I can focus my efforts only on this. I’m not going to give a chapter by chapter report on this, but I will let you know my progress.

Keep thinking and rethinking,

Deborah

PS: Oops, I forgot to tell you what the course is.  It’s by Steve and Kerry Beck. You can find it at www.my8weekprofitplan.com

First, it’s not a fit for where I am right now.  Several times over the course, Mike Filsaime mentioned that what you do for a 7 figure business is very different from what you do for a 6 or 5 figure business.  The strategies he’s teaching are focused on taking your business to a high level of structure and forward momentum.

My goals are different seeing as I am a work at home mom of a preschooler and I’m preparing for homeschooling. I’m not ready to have employees and a rented office space. My office is in a black tote bag and goes with me to the wifi enable coffee shop. (OK, not really work-at-home, but did I mention I have a preschooler)

Everything I learned from the course so far has been wonderful and they have colored my decisions and how they affect my future. I really had to weigh whether it was best for me to finish or to put it on hold until later.  I decided to put it on hold.

One complaint I have about the 7 Figure Code is that it is only on DVD. I once heard Mike Filsaime say that he does video because that’s what the people want. That may be true, but I’m going to get a lot less out of a program if the only access I have to it is sitting passively in front of a tv or computer screen.

It would be fine if there was something to see, but these guys are standing on stage talking using PowerPoint presentations. It’s good to see the slides, but I need something more portable.  If he had offered the audios in addition to the DVDs I could listen and re-listen as I am doing other things.

I walk around with my MP3 player as I’m running errands, etc. It’s a great way to get an education without having to carve out more time. If I had audios, I could listen over and over again to reinforce what I’m learning on the DVDs.

That being said, I think the content I’ve watched so far has been top notch and has taught me a lot. It will definitely be revisited when the time is right. 

Deborah

Several times a week I see someone who doesn’t think it is worth the trouble to get an extra deduction.  Sometimes it only involves a phone call or a closer look at some business records. We’re talking 5 minutes to half and hour of time to get several hundred dollars of benefit.

When I tell people about this pattern they automatically jump to the conclusion that people are afraid to take too many deductions and trigger an audit.  It’s true, many people have that fear, but that’s not what’s happening in the situations I’m referring to right now.

I believe it all boils down to a money mindset.  Most people get a job, put their time in and get a check. It’s pretty methodical.  It almost closes the mind to opportunities that exist everywhere and everyday.  Partially because of the work culture and partially because of busyness and fatigue.

I believe it’s the crux of why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Rich people see opportunities and act on them.  Many poor and middle class people just talk about how hard it is to make ends meet and mentally accept it as a fact of life.

Then there’s those in the middle who see the opportunities but don’t act out of fear, disbelief, inability to change, or a hundred other reasons. 

It can get complicated because not all opportunities are good and right.  We’ve got to learn and grow.  I’ve taken my fair share opportunities that didn’t pan out. I just count it as a learning experience and move on to the next.  I’m not trying to toot my own horn. My main struggle has always been procrastination, so seeing opportunities is only the beginning of the race.  Seeing that the race is run and finished is the best reward.

To your success,

Deborah 

Even though I’ve always known that men think and act differently than women, I didn’t realize how much of a contrast there is between women Internet marketers and men.  Wonderful Web Women has actually reduced my tolerance level for some of the male speakers.  I was listening to a CD from Armand Morin’s Big Seminar from 2006.  I had to pull one CD out because the guy was stressing me out. His voice was loud, abrasive, and almost yelling.  If he was saying anything of value, I didn’t catch it because he was so busy trying to pump everyone up.

It dawned on me that listening to a lot of the Internet marketing guys is a lot like going to a pro ball game.  There’s lights, action, adrenaline, crowds, building momentum.  Some are more low key than others.  There’s also kind of a “just the facts, Ma’am” kind of thing going on, too.

When I started listening to the Wonderful Web Women, it was less like a ball game and more like a chamber music concert in an old country manor house.  It’s calm and relaxing but still very logical and intelligent.  It uses both sides of the brain.  It’s more of a conversation, although it is very analytical as well.

After every call I feel more refreshed and ready to take action. It actually seems possible to get something done. It’s like getting a nice boost of serotonin. It leaves me feeling calm, capable, and much more focused. The adrenaline events just leave me tired and overloaded.

It’s not just the events, it’s the amount and method of information I receive.  I’ve had to unsubscribe from a lot of people not just because of quantity of email, but also the frustrating subject lines. I never even had to open them for them to drain my energy. 

OK, I’m ranting a little, but listening to the women on Janet’s mastermind calls has opened up a new world about women in business in general. Two women used really strong words about how they feel about selling tactics that are used on them. One said she felt “violated” and another said that she felt like she would be “prostituting” herself if she responded to their solicitations. 

I don’t feel that strongly, but I do feel fed up with much of the super charged, grandious language used in internet marketing. No more “ultimate intensive smack downs” - PLEASE!

If you want to sell to me, show me that you respect me and my intellect.  Connect with me on a deeper level and prove to me that you have something that is going to make my life better. I’ve got too much clutter on my hard drive from free stuff that I don’t need.

In the words from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer…

“Don’t give me songs — Give me something to sing about.”

To your best,

Deborah

If you aren’t aware of it, it looks like this…

Poor and middle class people work on the left hand side as an “E” (employee) or an “S” (self-employed).  All of these people sell their time for money.  Because we only have fixed allotment of time our income is also limited.

Rich people live on the right hand side of the quadrant.  ”B” is for business and refers to business owners who leverage their time by utilizing the resources around them including having employees.  

The difference between the ”B” and the “S” is that the self-employed person puts more energy into running things themselves and taking care of the operations part of the business.  A “B” quadrant person sets up systems and hires people to run his businesses.  This frees them up to build more assets.

What if Sam Walton had to be at the store every night closing out the registers?  If so, there would be one small store in Bentonville, AR instead of the mega business it is today.

The last is “I”. This stands for investment.  Rich people are looking for assets - things that bring them money rather than costing them money. Investments are a way to do that. This can include real estate, the stock market, and more. 

Part of rethinking wealth is looking at life in a different way.  If you think opening your own business is the way to freedom, you are right - as long as you run it the right way. 

It all goes back to the old adage “Work smart, not hard” 

 Here’s to your journey,
Deborah

One of the milestones I’ve reached during this time involves a deeper understanding of learning vs. doing and how that has lived itself out in my life.  For those of us who love learning, it can easily supercede getting anything actually done. 

Knowledge is great and necessary, but it can also be our biggest obstacle.  Sometimes we are too smart for our own good. This has been clear in the tax class I’ve been teaching. People tend to miss what they are looking for by overthinking the problem. They end up reading more into things that are actually there. 

In preparing for the exam, I found myself redirecting people to focus their efforts on the task at hand.  They worry about getting the complex issues down. I direct them back to the basic, foundational principles.

In reality, you can’t master the complexities before you get started. You have to get started before you can really figure them out.

The similarities in their efforts and my own thoughts and actions haven’t escaped me.  The reality is that I have more than enough head knowledge to get the show on the road. It’s just that I’m struggling in applying it. 

Some of it is information overload. I’m working through this in a few ways.

• I’m shaving off the unimportant stuff and learning to make priorities. Part of this is developing a sense of what I want and don’t want. I’ve read a lot about goals, mission, and vision statements, but it is still hard for me to get my mind around it. FranklinCovey systems have helped a lot with that.
• I’ve started a mastermind group. That has been invaluable from the get go.  I’m amazed at how it has helped me pinpoint my direction more clearly. Talking it out and getting ideas and feedback are bringing about real change.
• I’ve implemented a brain dump process since thought clutter really holds me back. I’ve had very good success with mindmaps in the past. Lately I’ve found free flow writing does the trick for me. Writing gets info out of my head, organizes it and lets me actually see what’s going on in my noggin. 

Change is a long process, but it is well worth the effort.  Even though I started this blog with a focus on changing how we think, it has become very clear that changing how you act on your thoughts is a bigger part of the process.

Here’s to your journey,
Deborah